Dalaroo locks in 2.5km gold drill target in West Africa

Dalaroo Metals has honed its focus on the company’s rapidly emerging Bondoukou gold project in north‑eastern Côte d’Ivoire, outlining a high‑priority gold drill target at the Goldridge prospect extending over 2.5 kilometres in strike and up to 400 metres wide.

The sizeable target has been pieced together through a smart blend of systematic geological mapping, structural interpretation, rock chip geochemistry, aeromagnetic data, and extensive artisanal mining. The combined datasets all point to a large, structurally controlled gold system sitting close to the surface.

Recent fieldwork returned rock‑chip gold assays of up to 17.95 grams per tonne (g/t), confirming the presence of high‑grade mineralisation associated with quartz veining along a dominant north‑west–south‑east‑trending structural corridor.

A total of 56 rock and saprolite samples were collected across the northern part of the Bondoukou licence area, with eight samples grading above 0.5g/t gold, clustered along the same structural alignment as mapped artisanal workings.

Taken together, the numbers indicate a coherent and laterally extensive gold system rather than isolated occurrences. 

The newly defined priority target zone also sits within a broader 9.5‑kilometre‑long gold‑anomalous corridor, interpreted from structural analysis and a coincident regional aeromagnetic high. 

The interpretation suggests the 2.5‑kilometre target may represent only the most advanced portion of a much larger mineralised system.

Extensive artisanal gold mining is evident across the Goldridge area, with the local diggings closely matching the orientation of the new target corridor. 

Mapping shows mineralisation hosted within metasedimentary units at the contact with mafic metavolcanics, where gold is focused along fold limbs and near hinge zones - a structural setting commonly associated with the prolific Birimian‑style orogenic gold deposits across five West African countries.

Field observations indicate the gold system is structurally continuous, strengthening the case for follow‑up extensional drilling.

Dalaroo Metals chief executive officer John Morgan said: “The combination of high-grade rock-chip results, favourable structural architecture and extensive artisanal workings provides compelling drill targets.”

The Bondoukou project sits within the richly endowed Birimian Greenstone Belt of northeast Côte d’Ivoire and 35 kilometres northeast of Endeavour Mining’s monster 4.5-million-ounce Tanda‑Iguela gold project.

Dalaroo has highlighted geological similarities between Goldridge and Endeavour’s Assafou Dibibango deposit, which sits within the broader Tanda Iguela project, noting comparable host rocks, structural controls and mineralisation styles, while stressing that no direct comparison of resources or grades is implied.

Dalaroo secured an 80 per cent interest in the Bondoukou project in late February and has moved quickly from acquisition into active exploration. 

Earlier this month, the company confirmed the launch of systematic field mapping across the area, identifying multiple structural corridors and a widespread artisanal footprint.

To support the growing workload, Dalaroo has established a dedicated in-country field camp and strengthened its West African management, appointing Mohammed Niaré as president of business development in Côte d’Ivoire.

With a large drill target mapped, high‑grade gold already confirmed at surface and soil sampling actively testing extensions along strike, Dalaroo appears well-positioned heading into drilling. 

In a proven gold address, Bondoukou is shaping up as a high‑impact exploration play with plenty of room to grow.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au